How to Make a "Vocabulary Test" Word Puzzle

After you have installed the WordWiz Crossword Puzzle Design Studio,
you are only 7 steps away from creating your first word puzzle.

Additional Help Topics ... Tool Bar Buttons ... Make a Word-Search Puzzle

Quick Start "Make Your First Puzzle"		The buttons in the on-screen "construction guide" correspond to the 7 Quick Start steps. To open or close the guide, Select HELP / ON-SCREEN GUIDE from the main menu.
1.	Choose a "Puzzle Style"
2.	Create or Open a "Word List"
3.	Design the "Puzzle Grid"
4.	Construct the Puzzle
5.	Write the "Clues" for each word in the puzzle
6.	Print the Puzzle
7.	Save the Puzzle

Click on the step titles to see how to perform each step.
Use the screen shot below to locate the controls that are used to perform each step.

1. Puzzle Style Logo
2. Word Bank Tool
3. Puzzle Grid
4. Construction Tool
5. Clue Box
6. Page Layout and Print Tool
7. Main Menu

The "Puzzle Style" determines the kind of word puzzle that you are going to make. The "Instant Crossword" style is the best style to use for educational puzzles. That is: a puzzle that is made from your own list of specific words, and a clue is written for each word in the puzzle.

If the "Instant Crossword" style is not already selected, then you may select it by using any one of the following methods:
a) Right click on the "Puzzle Style Logo" (Item 1 in screen shot), then click on "Instant Crossword".
b) From the MENU, click OPTIONS then PUZZLE STYLE then INSTANT CROSSWORD.
c) Left click on the "Puzzle Style Logo". This brings up the "Style Selection Wizard". This wizard helps you select a puzzle style based on your word list size, how the puzzle grid is to be designed, and whether or not you feel like writing clues. To get the wizard to recommend "Instant Crossword", choose - 10 or more words / WordWiz (automatic) Grid Design / Clues Yes, then click "Choose this Style".
d) Press "ALT+T" to open the "Style Selection Wizard". Then proceed as in method "c".
e) Click the top button in the "Construction Guide". Then proceed as in method "c".

That's it! At this point, the "Puzzle Style Logo" (Item 1) should read: "Instant Crossword".
You are now ready to proceed to step 2: Enter your word list.

For more information about each available puzzle style, click here.

Your first puzzle will contain a short list of your own words.

To key in the words you want to use in the puzzle: a) Click the "Word Bank" tool (Item 2 in main screen shot) to open the "Word Bank Edit Pad". b) Click "Clear Bank" if the word bank already has words in it from a different puzzle. c) Move the cursor to the white "Word Entry" area by clicking on it. d) Type a word and press the ENTER key to add the word to the list. (repeat for each word). e) Click OK when finished.

You can type as many words as you want, but limit it to about 20-30 for the first puzzle.
If you want to remove a word, use the scroll bar to bring the word into view, then click the small "D" button in front of the word to be deleted.
If you want to re-use this same word-list for other puzzles in the future, then click "Save Bank" and enter a file name for the saved word bank. WordWiz saves word-bank files with an extension of WPL. (Do this before clicking OK!)

WordWiz has many other ways to let you create and manage word lists. For example, you can import a word list from the current clipboard text. Click here for more information about working with word lists.

Good News! Because your first puzzle is using the "Instant Crossword" Style, the Puzzle Grid (word formation) will automatically be designed for you. The only Grid Design issue that is left up to you is: How many rows and columns should the grid contain?
Note: The trial version of the WordWiz software will support puzzle sizes up to 9 cells by 9 cells.

To Choose a Grid Size: a) Click OPTIONS / GRID SIZE from the main menu, then choose the size you want. - OR - b) Click OPTIONS / GRID LAYOUT from the main menu. This will open the "Grid Layout" window. On this window, you can work with many aspects of the grid, but for now, just select the number of rows and columns you want. (ok, if you insist, type in a title for your puzzle too!)

Tips about choosing a grid size: (for "Instant Crosswords")
If you choose a grid size that is too large, then the puzzle words will "sprawl" all over the grid (not very attractive).
If you choose a grid size that is too small, then WordWiz may leave some of the words out of the puzzle.
If your word bank has about 20 words, then try a size of 15x15 for starters.

Now for the amazing part: Click the CONSTRUCT tool (Item 4 on main screen shot).
WordWiz will work out a word formation for the puzzle.
If the grid size is too small, you may get a warning that all of the words could not be placed into the puzzle grid. If that happens, you can try clicking CONSTRUCT again (each time, you will get a different word formation). If repeated construction attempts fail to fit in all the words, then go back to step 3, and make the grid dimensions larger (or go back to step 2 and remove some words from the word list).

Now for the fun part: Once you have a satisfactory word formation, you can now write a clue for each word that appears in the puzzle.

Click OPTIONS / CLUES... on the main menu. This will open the "Edit Clues" window.

Use the Up and Down arrows to step though each word in the puzzle.
In the upper white box, type a clue for each word.
Click OK when you have written a clue for each word in the puzzle.

As you write the clues, they are automatically saved in a "Clue Library". This will allow WordWiz to automatically pull back the clue for a word if the same word is used in a future puzzle.
For more information on how to use the clue libraries, see Writing and Saving Clues.

Before you actually print the puzzle on paper, you should first preview it on the screen, and adjust the layout so that the puzzle looks the way you want it to.

Click the Preview tool (item 6 in main screen shot). This opens the Page Layout Wizard, and displays a "live" print preview of the puzzle. 1) Click Reset Layout. This will let WordWiz take a crack at automatically laying out the puzzle for you. 2) Select your favorite font. (use the pull down arrow). 3) Use the layout control to size and position the puzzle grid and the puzzle text. Do this by first selecting the aspect you want to change, and then click and hold the colored arrows until you get the effect you want. 4) If you have a color printer, click COLORS, and choose the colors for the various puzzle elements. 5) Click PRINT to commit your creation to paper. 6) If you want to also print the solution to the puzzle, Check the SOLUTION box, Use the Layout Control to size and position the solution, and click PRINT to print it. 7) Click CLOSE to return to the main puzzle design screen after you are finished printing.

I decided to use a landscape paper orientation. To choose a paper orientation, click SETUP in the Page Layout Wizard, and then use select the page orientation (if your printer supports it).

Use the FILE / SAVE AS option on the main menu to save the puzzle. You can open the puzzle at a future time (to print more copies, or to use as a basis for a new puzzle) by using FILE / OPEN.

Congratulations: You have made your first puzzle! Now, for extra credit, follow the next 4 easy steps to make a Word Search puzzle from the same word list:

1) Right click on the "Puzzle Style Logo" and select the "Word Search" puzzle style.
2) Click the "Construct Tool" and watch WordWiz make a new puzzle.
3) Click the "Preview Tool" to adjust the page layout and print the puzzle.
4) Save the puzzle.

Now that you are familiar with the automated construction features, click here for information on how to construct a crossword puzzle manually.

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